Kawhi Leonard said the allegation that he signed up for a no-show job with a now-bankrupt company to help the Los Angeles Clippers circumvent the salary cap is nothing but a conspiracy theory.
At the team’s preseason media day Monday, Leonard spoke publicly for the first time since reporting by the podcast “Pablo Torre Finds Out” linked an endorsement deal Leonard had with sustainability services company Aspiration to Clippers owner Steve Ballmer funneling him an extra $28 million.
“It’s easy for me (not to be distracted),” Leonard said. “I don’t read headlines or do conspiracy theories or anything like that. It’s about the season and what we’ve got ahead of us right now. Tomorrow we’ll start camp, and see what we got.”
The NBA is now probing the deal, which Ballmer has claimed he had no knowledge of, despite initially introducing Leonard to Aspiration in 2021. In September 2021, the Clippers announced a $300 million partnership with Aspiration, around the same time Leonard signed a four-year, $173 million extension with the Clippers.
Among the questions Leonard faced at his press conference Monday was whether he knew what the endorsement deal required him to do.
“I understand the full contract and the services I had to do,” Leonard said. “Like I said, I don’t deal with the conspiracies or clickbait analysts or journalism that’s going on. So that’s what it is.”
He then stated he disagreed with the notion he was not asked to do anything as part of the contract.
“I don’t think it’s accurate. But, it’s old,” Leonard said. “This is all new to you guys. The company went bankrupt a while ago, so, we already knew this was going to happen.”
Aspiration filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in March and its co-founder, Joe Sanberg, was arrested on charges of defrauding investors.
Leonard confirmed not only that the deal with Aspiration existed, but that he was owed “more than” $7 million by the now-bankrupt group.
Like Ballmer earlier this month, Leonard said he welcomed the NBA’s investigation.
“The NBA’s gonna do their job. None of us did no wrongdoing. And, yeah, that’s it,” Leonard said. “We invite the investigations. It’s not gonna be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.”
